The Times magazine for the week of November 22 included a section called "Best Inventions of 2021." As I read through it, I saw numerous inventions related to STEM. For example, there was a car that teaches kids how to code and a building kit for kids to build a robot hand and learn about hydraulics. These inventions really hype me up. However, there was this specific invention that really bothered me a lot: A Compassionate Companion.
This story was about Robin the robot, who spent time with an 8-year-old pneumonia patient who refused to eat. As it played with the kid for several hours, it left, promising only to return if the kid ate food. It is a really cool robot if you think about it since it reduces the workforce spent on taking care of the patients so that other urgent patients could be taken care of. However, on second thought, it is really creepy. A robot pretending to be a friend of someone, replacing something that only human beings could do.
Artificial intelligence has been improved to an exponential level in a short amount of time. It went from completing simple tasks to talking and communicating with human beings. As of now, it can only use words and phrases recorded in their data bank, but what if they learn more? What if they learn something that has caused numerous trouble to humanity, such as greed and hatred? I think it is possible for robots to learn those kinds of human characteristics which we thought only humans could have.
Humans are often arrogant and think that they have control over everything. Even in the movie Jurassic World, scientists thought they had the dinosaurs under control. However, the Indominus Rex was far smarter than humans could ever imagine and ended up killing many people in the park. I anticipate the same thing from artificial intelligence, especially in modern society with advanced network connections throughout the world. Once they gain access to the internet, they would easily outsmart humans using their superior memories and processors.
However, I am not saying we should stop the development of artificial intelligence. What we should do is to slow down and have a solid system that ensures our safety. Ever since the start of the 21st century, our technological advancement is so fast that we are having a hard time catching up to it. At this rate, we cannot control sudden actions that could happen in the future. It would be too late if we act after the robots decide to take over humanity. Therefore, we should examine every possibility and set up restrictions such as laws that prevent the creation of uncontrollable robot upheavals.
